S 9890: Prohibits the use of automatic license plate reader systems or captured plate data by government entities except for certain purposes.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9890  IN SENATE April 13, 2026 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law and the public authorities law, in relation to automatic license plate reader systems The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 2 397-c to read as follows: 3 § 397-c. Automatic license plate reader systems. 1. Definitions. As 4 used in this section, the following terms shall have the following mean- 5 ings: 6 (a) "Automatic license plate reader system" or "ALPR system" shall 7 mean a system, software, or computer algorithm, whether used independ- 8 ently or in combination with one or more mobile or fixed automated 9 cameras, used to convert images of license plates into computer-readable 10 data. 11 (b) "Captured plate data" shall mean the location, including but not 12 limited to GPS coordinates, date and time, photograph, license plate 13 number, and any other data captured by, derived from, or inferred from 14 an automatic license plate reader system, including but not limited to a 15 vehicle's make, model, color, bumper stickers, roof racks, and other 16 characteristics or features. 17 (c) "Government entity" shall mean the state of New York or any 18 department, agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision thereof, 19 or any person, agent, entity, or contractor acting for, on behalf of, or 20 pursuant to a contract therewith. 21 (d) "Hot list" shall mean a database of license plate numbers and 22 other identifying information regarding vehicles that law enforcement 23 reasonably believes are related to an ongoing criminal or missing 24 persons investigation and that (i) was created and maintained by a 25 federal or New York state government agency, (ii) operates in a manner 26 that is fully consistent with the provisions of this act, and (iii) is 27 updated frequently enough to ensure the information contained therein is 28 accurate, relevant, timely, and complete. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD15364-01-6 
 S. 9890 2 1 (e) "Privately captured plate data" shall mean captured plate data 2 from an automatic license plate reader system that is not used or oper- 3 ated by, on behalf of, or pursuant to a contract with a government enti- 4 ty. 5 (f) "Secured area" shall mean an area, enclosed by clear boundaries, 6 to which access is limited and not open to the public, and entry is 7 obtainable only through specific access-control points. 8 2. Restrictions on use. (a) Except as provided for in paragraph (b) of 9 this subdivision, it shall be unlawful for any government entity to 10 operate or use an automatic license plate reader system or captured 11 plate data. 12 (b) An automatic license plate reader system and captured plate data 13 may only be used by a government entity for the following purposes: 14 (i) For the comparison of captured plate data with (1) hot list data 15 or (2) specific vehicle plate or other vehicle identifying information 16 manually entered into the ALPR system to determine if a vehicle scanned 17 by an ALPR system is relevant and material to an investigation of a 18 vehicle that: 19 (A) is registered to an individual for whom there is an outstanding 20 felony arrest warrant; 21 (B) is unregistered or uninsured; 22 (C) contains a missing person or evidence of the location of a missing 23 person; 24 (D) is stolen; or 25 (E) is currently being used in the commission of a felony, or escape 26 thereafter; 27 (ii) to enforce restrictions on the use of parking facilities; 28 (iii) to control access to secured areas; 29 (iv) for electronic toll collection; or 30 (v) to enforce the vehicle and traffic law. 31 3. Data transfer. (a) No government entity shall sell, share, lease, 32 allow or provide access to, or transfer captured plate data with any 33 person or entity other than a New York state government entity, except: 34 (i) if required by a federal judicial probable cause warrant or other 35 valid federal judicial court order; or 36 (ii) if required by a judicial probable cause warrant from another 37 state, but only if the warrant or court order involves: 38 (1) an investigation listed in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of 39 subdivision two of this section; and 40 (2) the investigation or prosecution of an act that is a felony under 41 New York state law. 42 (iii) to criminal defense counsel in a matter to which the captured 43 plate data pertains; 44 (iv) in discovery in a civil or criminal case; or 45 (v) pursuant to a freedom of information law request under article six 46 of the public officers law, subject to the limitations in subdivision 47 five of this section. 48 (b) A government entity may purchase, obtain, receive, or use private- 49 ly captured plate data only pursuant to a probable cause warrant. 50 4. Data retention. (a) Captured plate data obtained by a government 51 entity shall be deleted no later than forty-eight hours after being 52 obtained. 53 (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subdivision, lawfully 54 captured plate data shall be retained for longer than forty-eight hours: 55 (i) where required under applicable state law governing the use, pres- 56 ervation, and disclosure of evidence. Captured plate data retained for 
 S. 9890 3 1 more than forty-eight hours pursuant to this subparagraph shall be 2 deleted as soon as practicable once its preservation is no longer 3 permitted or required under the applicable state laws governing the use 4 and preservation of evidence; 5 (ii) where the captured plate data is captured pursuant to paragraph 6 (b) of subdivision two of this section, such data may be retained until 7 the fine or fee is paid or the enforcement matter is fully and finally 8 adjudicated; 9 (iii) if requested by criminal defense counsel in the matter to which 10 the captured plate data pertains; 11 (iv) if required pursuant to a federal judicial warrant or other valid 12 court order; or 13 (v) if required pursuant to a judicial warrant or other valid court 14 order issued from another state, but only if the warrant or court order 15 involves: 16 (1) an investigation listed in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of 17 subdivision two of this section; and 18 (2) the investigation or prosecution of an act that is unlawful under 19 the laws of New York state. 20 5. Freedom of information law exemption. (a) Captured plate data shall 21 not be considered a public record for the purposes of a freedom of 22 information law request under article six of the public officers law. 23 (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the following 24 shall be considered a public record for the purposes of a freedom of 25 information law request under article six of the public officers law: 26 (i) an ALPR system's audit, use, and access logs and data; however, in 27 responding to a valid request, any individual license plate information 28 or other vehicle-specific identifying information, such as vehicle 29 photographs and information regarding a vehicle's make, model, or color, 30 shall be redacted from the responsive documents and data; and 31 (ii) data and information regarding a vehicle personally owned or 32 leased by a freedom of information law requestor during the period of 33 ownership or lease. A request for such information shall include a sworn 34 statement that the requester is the owner or lessor of the vehicle, and 35 that the requester is not subject to an outstanding order of protection 36 involving any other owners, lessors, or drivers of the vehicle. 37 (c) For purposes of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of this subdi- 38 vision, the terms "requestor", "owner", "lessor", and "driver" shall 39 only refer to human persons, and not any business, corporate, or other 40 non-human entities. 41 6. Reporting. (a) Any government entity that operates or uses automat- 42 ic license plate reader systems shall: 43 (i) conspicuously post on its website an annual report on the govern- 44 ment entity's automatic license plate reader practices and usage. The 45 report shall include, at a minimum: 46 (1) the number and locations of all cameras used in connection with 47 any automatic license plate reader systems operated or used by, on 48 behalf of, or pursuant to a contract with the government entity; 49 (2) the number of license plates scanned by each camera; 50 (3) the name of each hot list against which captured plate data were 51 checked, and who maintains each hot list; 52 (4) the number of instances in which captured plate data was deter- 53 mined to match a hot list; 54 (5) the number of instances in which captured plate data was deter- 55 mined to have matched a hot list but upon further investigation, the 56 captured plate data did not match the hot list; 
 S. 9890 4 1 (6) the number of instances in which captured plate data was deter- 2 mined to have matched a hot list and there was a subsequent arrest or 3 prosecution, other than those counted pursuant to clause five of this 4 subparagraph; 5 (7) the number of instances in which captured plate data was retained 6 for more than forty-eight hours pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision 7 four of this section, broken down by the reason for which the data was 8 retained for a longer time period; and 9 (8) all existing policies related to the use of ALPR systems or 10 captured plate data, and any changes in policy that affect privacy 11 concerns. 12 (ii) maintain a record of every time in the past three years that any 13 captured plate data was queried or accessed. The record shall include: 14 (1) the name of the entity and individual seeking access; 15 (2) the date and time that the query or access occurred; 16 (3) the purpose for which access was sought, with any specific license 17 plate numbers or individuals' identifying information redacted; 18 (4) the scope of the query, including temporal and geographical limi- 19 tations, but excluding any captured plate data; 20 (5) the number of records accessed; and 21 (6) the number of distinct license plates that appear in the records 22 accessed. 23 (b) Nothing in this provision shall authorize the maintenance of 24 captured plate data itself beyond the limits set forth in this section. 25 7. Exclusionary rule. (a) No captured plate data and no evidence 26 derived therefrom may be introduced in evidence by a government entity 27 in any trial, hearing, or other proceeding in or before any court, grand 28 jury, department, officer, agency, regulatory body, legislative commit- 29 tee, or other authority of the state of New York, or a political subdi- 30 vision thereof, if the disclosure of that information would be in 31 violation of this section or if such captured plate data was obtained, 32 used, sold, shared, accessed, or transferred in violation of this 33 section. 34 (b) The prohibition on receiving evidence in paragraph (a) of this 35 subdivision shall not apply to captured plate data or evidence derived 36 therefrom that is introduced by the defendant in a criminal case and is 37 otherwise admissible under the laws of this state. 38 8. Penalties. (a) Any person who violates the provisions of this 39 section shall be subject to legal action for damages, to be brought by 40 any other person claiming that a violation of this section has injured 41 their business, their person, or their reputation. A person so injured 42 shall be entitled to actual damages, including mental pain and suffering 43 endured by such person on account of violation of the provisions of this 44 act, or liquidated damages of one thousand dollars, and a reasonable 45 attorney's fee and other costs of litigation. 46 (b) If the attorney general learns that a government official or enti- 47 ty has violated any provision of this section, the attorney general 48 shall be empowered to bring a civil action for declaratory and injunc- 49 tive relief to prevent any ongoing or future violations. 50 (c) Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude a government official 51 or entity from taking additional disciplinary actions when it learns of 52 violations of the provisions of this section. 53 § 2. Subdivision 14 of section 2985 of the public authorities law, as 54 added by chapter 379 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows: 55 14. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all photographs, 56 microphotographs, [videotape] video footage, captured plate data as 
 S. 9890 5 1 defined in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section three hundred 2 ninety-seven-c of the general business law, or other recorded images 3 prepared pursuant to this section shall be for the exclusive use of a 4 public authority in the discharge of its duties under this section and 5 shall not be open to the public nor be used in any court in any action 6 or proceeding pending therein unless such action or proceeding relates 7 to the imposition of or indemnification for liability pursuant to this 8 section. The public authority shall not sell, distribute or make avail- 9 able in any way, the names and addresses of electronic toll collection 10 system account holders, without such account holders' consent to any 11 entity that will use such information for any commercial purpose 12 provided that the foregoing restriction shall not be deemed to preclude 13 the exchange of such information between any entities with jurisdiction 14 over and or operating a toll highway bridge and/or tunnel facility. 15 § 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi- 16 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of 17 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 18 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in 19 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section 20 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg- 21 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of 22 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such 23 invalid provisions had not been included herein. 24 § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 25 have become a law, provided, however, with respect to captured plate 26 data collected prior to the effective date of this act, subdivision 5 of 27 section 397-c of the general business law, as added by section one of 28 this act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have 29 become law.